Also from Zoxell: These are the Voyages

Daniel Noah Shays is a human, born on Earth to a hard-working agriculturalist couple in the South Carolina back-country. Dan’s father was a farmer, as was his father’s father, going back hundreds of years. The world had moved past agriculture a long time ago. Having eliminated food shortages and hunger with the onset of replication technology, food growers on Earth were no longer necessary. This fact did not diminish the demand for fresh, organic vegetables, eggs, dairy, and meat, however.

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Chapter 2.19 – Accusations

Julian and Bebe offer their polite congratulations to David and Kacey after announcing the engagement.

David has always assumed that his parents came to dislike Kacey after they found she was sneaking into the house to be with him when they were both teens. Yuki was never shown that particular skeleton in the closet, so she is excited to have Kacey as her future sister. But his parents clearly, were still not keen on the idea. He wished he knew what it was about her that still bothered them.

David had wanted to invite Reid over to share the celebration. But after his exchange with Kacey earlier in the evening, he decides it is best to wait until after he had a chance to find out what the problem is. Julian and Bebe excuse themselves early for bed, and with a little prompting, Yuki finally catches on that his brother wants to be alone with Kacey.

It has been years since they shared more than a hug for physical contact. David carries her to his bedroom where they bring that particular trend to an end.

As Kacey settles in and begins to think about a job, David insists she take the manager position at the bookstore. She is surprised to learn that the Julian and Bebe had been investing money in Sunset Valley and now own the bookstore, the theater, and were partners in a number of other businesses around town. His offer is a dream come true for her, and she graciously accepts it. A few days later, as Kacey returns home from her new job, she finds both Yuki and David gone. She is alone in the house with Julian and Bebe for the first time since she moved in.

It is evident that she is not well-liked, and probably viewed as a tramp by her future in-laws. Kacey knows her qualities leave much to be desired, and they probably wanted more for David than a quiet, nerdy, bookworm of a wife. Having grown up in a household with multiple families, she had become accustomed to living with people she barely spoke to. Kacey had been hoping it would be different here, but she is prepared for a chilly relationship with them. Still, she wants to at least make the attempt to reach out.

Julian is in the kitchen, and she greets him nervously. Her lack of confidence shows. And rather than sounding warm and confident, she comes across as nervous and edgy. She is grateful, suddenly, that David inherited Bebe’s warm brown eyes as Julian levels his icy gaze in her direction. Kacey wishes she would have left well enough alone as Julian begins to unload on her. He accuses her of playing some kind of con game with David, and that her brother is somehow involved in it. She flinches involuntarily as she is reminded, suddenly, of Reid. At first she tries tries to calm him, urging that she is being misunderstood.

But it becomes clear that he has already made up his mind. She has bottled up her emotions for so long that when she finally lets the cork out, it is explosive. The tears are flowing freely down her face, but her voice remains defiantly steady. Julian’s criminal past and tabloid affair with Pauline Wan had all been exposed in public years ago. She has made herself familiar with the details, and blasts back with a barrel full of ammunition, finishing with a parable about glass houses.

Bebe, hearing the altercation, races over to mediate. She calls Julian’s name repeatedly, begging him to stop. But he is too riled to listen to her warnings that David was on his way in. The results are not good. Bebe has never seen David angry, and certainly never seen him disrespect his father. But the scene that he walks into pushes him over the boiling point. David rushes to Kacey’s side barking a warning at Julian to back off. He challenges Julian, informing him that he has crossed the line, making clear to both he and Bebe that no amount of intimidation will prevent the marriage.

David comforts Kacey and whispers an apology for not being home. He walks with her to the bedroom where she is still trembling from the confrontation. As calms her, (which is ironic, as she is normally the one doing the calming), she begins to sense that there is something else going on. She saw the look on David’s face before he blew up at Julian.

Kacey thanks him with a kiss, and asks him what (besides the obvious) is bothering him. David’s eyes widen with worry. He tells her that he had gone to visit Reid at the house, to let him know about their engagement. Her outrage immediately returns, and she yells at him in protest. He apologizes, telling her that despite her request to keep Reid out of it, that he just did not feel right about keeping his best friend in the dark about marrying his sister.

Reid lost his mind when David told him about the engagement. He didn’t expect it, and he understands now why Kacey insisted they not tell Reid. David knows he will have to make amends for going against her wishes. He promises that he will make it up to her. But there is a serious problem that they need to address immediately. After freaking out about the engagement news, Reid went into a wide-eyed rant about the mine. Although David tried his best to stop him, Reid ran up the hill and disappeared into the boarded up mine, ignoring all of the posted warnings about its deadly hazards.

Kacey knows that Reid has finally snapped, and there is nothing that will stop him from tilting at windmills, now. She wants to tell David that it is not their responsibility to babysit Reid. He made his own decision regardless of the posted warnings. But she knows as well as David that Reid is not sane. The odds are against him making it out alive, unless they go in to get him. She and David change quickly and dash out into the night to save Reid from himself.

A looming chill grips Kacey, but she is too terrified to tell David. As they run off into the darkness, she feels the presence of death quick on her heels.

Zoxell

Up Next: Part 21 – ??

August 20, 2017
Van and Benita finally begin to heal their relationship and discover that their friendship does, indeed, have a much more complicated component. Big things await our embattled couple.
Next up – Frightening news from Area 15 is accompanied by a surprise visit from an old friend. Also, Benita receives help from a very unexpected source.